JP2003046657A - Communication equipment for remote control - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To operate an AV equipment connected to a network in home (home network) by remote control in real time from the outside through a network such as the Internet without delay like electronic mail and without necessity to load a large scale application on a terminal side to perform remote control like a web browser. SOLUTION: A message is received from an instant messaging application(IM application) 21 started by a communication terminal 20 to be connectable to a network 30 such as the Internet, and an operating command in the message is analyzed by a command analyzing means 12. Corresponding to the analyzed operating command, the operation of various kinds of AV equipment 40 connected to a home network 50 or the like provided by an IEEE1394 bus or the like is controlled by an IEEE1394 controller 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a remote control communication device for realizing a gateway for remotely controlling devices in a home network system such as a set top box and a VTR via a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the widespread use of devices that can be connected to the Internet, the Internet itself has become widespread as an infrastructure. In particular, as Internet applications that have been developed, there are browsing of WWW (World Wide Web) and transmission / reception of electronic mail. A standard protocol has been determined for these communications, and a wide variety of devices and applications have been created in accordance with the protocol.

On the other hand, in general households, AV (Audio and Visual) devices are being digitized and networked. CS (Communication Satellite) broadcast, BS (Broadcasting Satellite) broadcast, digital tuner, digital VTR (video tape recorder: Vi)
deo Tape Recorder), digital video camera, DVD
Digital devices such as (D.V.D .: Digital Versatile Disk) have become widespread, and
It can be connected according to the EEE1394 standard.

IEEE 1394 is a standard having characteristics such as high speed, real time, and plug and play.
The protocol used in this IEEE 1394 and the protocol used in the Internet are completely different, and the devices corresponding to each protocol are
It is not possible to communicate directly using either protocol.

When a plurality of networks for communicating according to respective protocols have been developed, if the networks can be connected to each other, for example, a company or a destination can connect to the Internet and further access AV equipment at home. It is also possible to remotely control these AV devices.

In order to meet such demands, gateways having a protocol conversion function for mutually converting the Internet protocol and the IEEE1394 protocol have been developed. For example, JP-A-11-341040
In the gazette, the Internet protocol and IEEE13
A gateway technology having a conversion function with the 94 protocol is disclosed.

Such a gateway is usually used in combination with a web server or mail server. Therefore, the application actually used for transmitting / receiving information is a web browser for browsing the widely used WWW or a mailer for transmitting / receiving electronic mail. For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-224221 discloses a technique of controlling the operation of various control devices such as AV devices by electronic mail in which operation commands are described in a predetermined format.

[0008]

However, when the device is controlled by the web server, a web browser is required on the terminal side for remote control. A web browser generally has a large application size (data capacity) for high functionality, and requires a considerable environment on the terminal side such as a large-capacity memory and high-speed arithmetic processing.

Further, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-224221
When the AV device is controlled by receiving an operation command by e-mail as in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication, it takes time for the e-mail to actually reach the destination due to the characteristics of the e-mail. In some cases, there is no guarantee that the email will arrive.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention eliminates the delay such as e-mail, and eliminates the need to install a large-scale application such as a web browser on the terminal side for remote operation. An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device for remote operation that realizes a gateway that enables remote operation of AV equipment of a home network (home network) from the outside via the network.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention receives and receives a message from an instant messaging application running on a communication terminal connectable to a first network such as the Internet. By analyzing the operation command in the message and controlling the operation of the device connected to the second network such as the home network realized by the IEEE 1394 bus according to the operation command, the remote operation is performed. There is.

The instant messaging application is, for example, I provided by Mirabilis.
MSN Messenger Service provided by CQ and Microsoft
It is an application that enables you to send and receive messages in real time with the other party connected to the Internet.

That is, according to the present invention, a device connected to the second network, which uses a communication protocol different from that of the first network, is remotely operated from a communication terminal connectable to the first network. A remote control communication device that realizes a gateway for receiving the message from an instant messaging application activated in the communication terminal on the first network; Command analysis means for analyzing an operation command in a message, and control for controlling an operation of the predetermined equipment to a predetermined equipment on the second network according to the operation command analyzed by the command analysis means. There is provided a remote control communication device having a control means for outputting a signal. .

Further, it has an authenticating means for authenticating whether or not the valid identification information is present in the message, and only when the valid identification information is present in the message,
It is a preferable aspect of the present invention to analyze the operation command by the command analysis means.

Further, it is a preferable aspect of the present invention to have a transmitting means for transmitting information to the communication terminal, and to transmit a result of operation control of the predetermined device according to the operation command in the message. is there.

Further, it has a storage means for storing a command menu in which a correspondence between the operation command and the control of the device is described, and when the information requesting the command menu is received from the communication terminal, the storage is carried out. Sending the command menu stored in the means to the communication terminal is a preferred aspect of the present invention.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First to fifth embodiments of a remote control communication device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a first embodiment according to a remote control communication device of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a remote control communication device 10 installed in a home and a communication terminal 20 are connected by a network 30 such as a LAN or the Internet.
The communication terminal 20 is, for example, a PC (personal computer: Pers) installed in a place away from home such as a company.
onal Computer), mobile communication terminals such as mobile phones.

The communication terminal 20 contains a program for executing an instant messaging application (hereinafter abbreviated as IM application) 21. The IM application 21 is a widely used Internet communication application, and is an application that enables real-time message transmission / reception with a partner connected to the Internet. As a typical IM application 21,
For example, there are ICQ provided by Mirabilis and MSN Messenger Service provided by Microsoft.
There are many other applications with equivalent functionality. However, some of these applications currently employ their own protocols, and not all applications are compatible. However, a standard protocol is currently being created, and if the standard protocol is established, the IM application 21 is expected to further spread.

Further, in the home, the communication device 1 for remote operation is used.
0 and an AV device 40 such as a broadcast tuner or a recording device for recording a program are connected by a home network 50 such as an IEEE 1394 bus. In addition, in this specification, in addition to a device that performs processing related to audio and video,
Household appliances such as a microwave oven and a refrigerator compatible with IEEE 1394 are also regarded as the AV device 40. Further, in FIG. 1, a D-VH is shown as a typical AV device 40.
The S recording / reproducing means 41 and the BS digital tuner 42 are described.

Remote operation communication device 1 installed in a home
A communication means 0 communicates with the IM application 21 installed in the communication terminal 20, receives the message from the communication terminal 20, the receiving means 11 analyzes the received message, and A
The command analysis unit 12 that processes as an operation command corresponding to the V device 40, and the contents of the operation command processed by the command analysis unit 12 are the IEEE 1394 controller 1
4 is connected to the command processing means 13 for notifying 4 and the IEEE 1394 bus constituting the home network 50, and AV
An IEEE 1394 controller (control means) 14 that outputs a signal for controlling the device 40 to the home network 50.
Have.

Next, the remote control communication device 10 shown in FIG.
The operation of will be described. Here, the network 30
A case will be described in which recording reservation of the D-VHS recording / reproducing means 41 installed at home is performed by an operation from the remote communication terminal 20 via the. In the communication terminal 20, the IM
The application 21 is activated. Then, the user of the communication terminal 20 uses the IM application 21 to perform an operation for instructing the remote operation communication device 10 from the communication terminal 20 about the name of the AV device 40 installed at home and the mode of operation. Send commands as instant messages.

For example, the operation command is described as follows. The command below is 200
From 19:00 to 21:00 on December 31, 2008, the D-VHS recording / reproducing means 41 records a program received by the channel 11 of the BS digital tuner 42. #Do: Recording reservation #Src: BS digital tuner #Ch: 11 #Dst: D-VHS #Start: 2000: 12: 31: 19: 00 # 2000: 12: 31: 21: 00

Receiving means 11 of the remote control communication device 10
Receives an instant message from the communication terminal 20 and passes it to the command analysis means 12. Command analysis means 1
2 is #Do or #Star in the received instant message
The operation command and its contents are analyzed from a predetermined keyword such as t and passed to the command processing means 13. The command processing means 13 determines the IE based on the passed operation command.
Request the EE1394 controller 14 for actual control. The IEEE 1394 controller 14 is an IEEE
By outputting the control signal to the home network 50 such as the E1394 bus, it becomes possible to set the channel of the BS digital tuner 42 and start the recording of the D-VHS recording / reproducing means 41. In this way, by using the IM application 21 of the communication terminal 20 to perform real-time communication with the remote control communication device 10 installed in the home with a small communication amount, the AV device 40 installed in the home Can be remotely controlled.

<Second Embodiment> FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a second embodiment according to the remote control communication device of the present invention. The remote operation communication device 10 shown in FIG. 2 is configured to further include a password authentication means 15 for authenticating a password (identification information) as compared with the remote operation communication device 10 shown in FIG.

Next, the remote control communication device 10 shown in FIG.
The operation of will be described. Here, the network 30
A case will be described in which the BS digital tuner 42 installed at home is turned off by an operation from the remote communication terminal 20 via the. In the communication terminal 20, the IM application 21 is activated, and like the first embodiment,
The user of the communication terminal 20 uses the IM application 2
1 from the communication terminal 20 to the remote control communication device 10
To, an operation command is sent as an instant message.

For example, the operation command is described as follows. The password “jfu9qs75” is set in advance, and if the password is not written, the remote operation communication device 10 is set so as not to accept the operation command written therein. #Pswd: jfu9qs75 #Do: Power off #Target: BS digital tuner

Receiving means 11 of the remote control communication device 10
Receives an instant message from the communication terminal 20 and passes it to the command analysis means 12. Command analysis means 1
2 extracts the password "jfu9qs75" from the keyword of #Pswd in the received instant message and outputs it to the password authentication means 15. Password authentication method 1
5 compares the password received from the communication terminal 20 with the preset password, and determines whether both passwords match. Then, if the passwords match, an OK signal is returned to the command analysis means 12, and if the passwords do not match, an NG signal is returned to the command analysis means 12.

The output signal of the password authentication means 15 is OK.
In the case of a signal, the command analysis means 12 analyzes the operation command and its contents from a predetermined keyword such as #Do or #Start in the received instant message, and passes the operation command to the command processing means 13 to obtain the above-mentioned embodiment. Through similar processing, the power of the BS digital tuner 42 is turned off.

On the other hand, when the output signal of the password authentication means 15 is an NG signal, the command analysis means 12 does not analyze the further operation command and the subsequent processing. In this way, the remote control communication device 10 does not process the instant message in which the correct password is not written, and accepts only the operation command from the user who is permitted to operate (user who knows the password). It becomes possible.

<Third Embodiment> FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the third embodiment according to the remote control communication device of the present invention. The remote operation communication device 10 shown in FIG. 3 is configured to further include a transmitting unit 16 for transmitting information to a communication terminal, as compared with the remote operation communication device 10 shown in FIG. In addition, the remote operation communication device 10 shown in FIG.
Further, it is also possible to adopt a configuration having the transmitting means 16.

Next, the remote control communication device 10 shown in FIG.
The operation of will be described. In the third embodiment, the first
Alternatively, when the control of the AV equipment 40 is normally completed (successful) such as the recording reservation of the program or the power-off of the BS digital tuner 42 in the second embodiment, the IEEE
The E1394 controller 14 returns a signal indicating that the control is successful to the command analysis means 12 via the command processing means 13.

On the other hand, for example, an IEEE 1394 bus or A
When the control of the AV device 40 does not end normally (fails) due to a failure of the V device 40 or the password cannot be authenticated, the IEEE 1394 controller 14 or the password authentication means 15 fails the control. The signal indicating that is done is returned to the command analysis means 12.

The command analysis means 12 passes a message indicating that the control has succeeded or failed to the transmission means 16,
The transmission means 16 transmits the message to the communication terminal 20. In this way, the communication terminal 20 that has transmitted the operation command can acquire the control result indicating whether the control by the operation command has succeeded or failed.

<Fourth Embodiment> FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a fourth embodiment according to the remote control communication device of the present invention. The remote operation communication device 10 shown in FIG. 4 stores a command menu which describes the correspondence between operation commands and the control of the AV equipment 40, as compared with the remote operation communication device 10 shown in FIG. The menu storage means 17 is provided.

Next, the remote control communication device 10 shown in FIG.
The operation of will be described. The IM application 21 is activated in the communication terminal 20, and the user of the communication terminal 20 uses the IM application 21 to send a predetermined command from the communication terminal 20 to the remote control communication device 10 as an instant message. Send.

For example, the predetermined command is described as follows. The following command requests a command menu. #Help

Receiving means 11 of the remote control communication device 10
Receives an instant message from the communication terminal 20 and passes it to the command analysis means 21. Command analysis means 2
1 confirms the keyword #Help in the received instant message, obtains a list of command menus from the menu storage means 17, and passes this command menu to the transmission means 16 as a message. Then, the transmission unit 16 transmits the command menu to the communication terminal 20.

For example, the command menu is as follows. # 11: Display power on # 12: Display power off # 21: D-VHS power on # 22: D-VHS power off # 23: D-VHS playback # 24: D-VHS stop

For example, when it is desired to reproduce the D-VHS recording / reproducing means 41 by remote operation from the communication terminal 20, check the above command menu and send a simple instant message # 23 for remote operation. The D-VHS recording / reproducing means 4 is simply transmitted to the communication device 10.
It becomes possible to reproduce 1. In the command analysis means 12 of the remote control communication device 10, the command of the number "# 23" received from the communication terminal 20 is compared with the menu list, converted into an actual command, and then sent to the command processing means 13. To do so.

<Fifth Embodiment> In the above fourth embodiment, when the number of AV devices 40 and the number of commands is large, the list of command menus becomes enormous, and communication takes time. Problems such as the display being difficult to see occur. The fifth embodiment solves this problem.
FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a fifth embodiment according to the remote control communication device of the present invention. The remote control communication device 10 shown in FIG. 5 is more suitable than the remote control communication device 10 shown in FIG. 1 from the menu storage means 17 for storing a command menu and a list of command menus. It has a configuration including a menu selection unit 18 for selecting a command menu.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the data structure of the command menu stored in the menu storage means. The data structure of the command menu stored in the menu storage means 17 has a tree structure as shown in FIG. 6, and is divided into categories for each AV device 40 and its operation, for example.

As in the fourth embodiment, when the command analysis means 12 of the remote control communication device 10 confirms the keyword #Help in the instant message received from the communication terminal 20, the command analysis means 12 determines that A predetermined number (for example, “0”) is passed to the menu selection means 18.
The menu selection unit 18 extracts a predetermined item corresponding to the number “0” from the list of command menus from the menu storage unit 17 and passes it to the command analysis unit 12. The command analysis means 12 passes the extracted list of command menus to the transmission means 16 as a message,
The transmission means 16 transmits this command menu list to the communication terminal 20.

For example, a list of command menus corresponding to the number "0" is as follows.
This corresponds to the operation of the device 40. # 10: Display operation # 20: D-VHS operation # 30: BS digital tuner operation # 40: D-VHS player operation

For example, when it is desired to operate the D-VHS recording / reproducing means 41 by remote operation from the communication terminal 20, confirm the above command menu and send a simple instant message # 20 for remote operation. It is transmitted to the communication device 10.

When the command analysis means 12 of the remote control communication device 10 confirms the keyword # 20 in the instant message received from the communication terminal 20, the command analysis means 12 causes the menu selection means 18 to display a predetermined number. (For example, "20") is passed. The menu selection means 18 is
From the list of command menus from the menu storage means 17, this time, a predetermined item corresponding to the numeral “20” is extracted and passed to the command analysis means 12. The command analysis means 12 passes the extracted list of command menus to the transmission means 16 as a message, and the transmission means 16
This list of command menus is transmitted to the communication terminal 20.

For example, a list of command menus corresponding to the numeral "20" is as follows:
This corresponds to each operation of the VHS recording / reproducing means 41. # 21: D-VHS power on # 22: D-VHS power off # 23: D-VHS playback # 24: D-VHS stop # 25: D-VHS fast forward

For example, when it is desired to perform the reproduction in the D-VHS recording / reproducing means 41 by the remote operation from the communication terminal 20, the above command menu is confirmed, and further, a simple instant message # 23 is remotely transmitted. The D-VHS recording / reproducing means 4 is simply transmitted to the operation communication device 10.
It becomes possible to reproduce 1. As in the case of the fourth embodiment, the command analysis means 12 of the remote control communication device 10 uses the number “# 2” received from the communication terminal 20.
The command "3" is compared with the menu list, converted into an actual command, and then sent to the command processing means 13. In this way, the command can be confirmed interactively, so that the communication amount can be increased. Thus, it is possible to suppress the display and make the display of the command menu on the communication terminal 20 easy to see.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention, a message from an instant messaging application running on a communication terminal connectable to a first network such as the Internet is received, and the received message is The remote operation is performed by analyzing the operation command and controlling the operation of the AV device connected to the second network such as the home network realized by the IEEE 1394 bus according to the operation command. The communication terminal for performing only needs to be equipped with a small-scale IM application, and it becomes possible to operate the AV equipment in the home network at home in real time without delay. Further, even if the communication terminal is a mobile terminal or a mobile phone that does not have a sufficient calculation processing speed and a small memory capacity, for example, it becomes possible to easily perform remote control of AV equipment at home.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a first embodiment according to a remote control communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a second embodiment according to a remote control communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a third embodiment according to a remote control communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a fourth embodiment according to a remote control communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a fifth embodiment of a remote control communication device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a data structure of a command menu stored in a menu storage means.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Remote Control Communication Device 11 Receiving Means 12 Command Analyzing Means 13 Command Processing Means 14 IEEE 1394 Controller (Control Means) 15 Password Authentication Means 16 Transmitting Means 17 Menu Storage Means 18 Menu Selecting Means 20 Communication Terminals 21 Instant Messaging Applications (IM Applications) 30 network (first network) 40 AV equipment 41 D-VHS recording / reproducing means 42 BS digital tuner 50 home network (second network)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H04Q 9/00 301 H04Q 9/00 301E 5K101 321 321E F term (reference) 5B089 GA31 GB01 HA10 HB10 JA35 JB10 JB24 KC53 KF05 5C056 AA07 BA01 BA08 BA10 CA06 CA08 CA11 CA13 CA19 DA11 5K030 GA16 HA08 HC01 HD03 HD06 JL08 KA01 KA07 KA13 5K033 AA09 BA01 CB08 DA01 DA06 DB16 5K048 BA02 DA05 DC04 EB02 EB03 5K101U12 KK11 TT06 UT02

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A gateway for remotely controlling, from a communication terminal connectable to a first network, a device connected to a second network, which uses a communication protocol different from that of the first network. A communication device for remote operation, comprising: receiving means for receiving a message from an instant messaging application activated on the communication terminal on the first network; and an operation command in the message received by the receiving means. Command analyzing means for analyzing, and control means for outputting a control signal for controlling the operation of the predetermined equipment to a predetermined equipment on the second network according to the operation command analyzed by the command analysis means. And a communication device for remote operation. 2. The command analysis means further comprises an authenticating means for authenticating whether or not valid identification information is present in the message, and only when the valid identification information is present in the message. The communication device for remote operation according to claim 1, wherein the operation command is analyzed. 3. A transmission means for transmitting information to the communication terminal, further transmitting a result of operation control of the predetermined device according to the operation command in the message. The communication device for remote control according to 1 or 2. 4. A storage means for storing a command menu in which the correspondence between the operation command and the control of the device is described, and when the information requesting the command menu is received from the communication terminal, 4. The remote control communication device according to claim 1, wherein the command menu stored in the storage unit is transmitted to the communication terminal.